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Notification and Return of Item |
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Construction Questions |
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Finding Fabric |
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Judging |
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Traveling Items and Selection |
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Shipping and Insurance |
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| Q. |
When will my 2005 entry be returned?
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| A. |
The 2005 entries that are not selected for traveling in one of the collections will be returned by late September, 2005. Those selected for traveling will be returned in Oct. of 2006. |
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| Q. |
When will I be notified if I don't win and my entry is not a part of a traveling collection? |
| A. |
When your entry is returned. Place winners are notified by phone and those selected to travel are notified by mail or email. If you do not receive notification within the first 2-4 weeks after the close of the Challenge then you should expect to have your entry returned. No other notifications are made. |
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| Q. |
When will I be notified if I win? |
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You will receive a phone call within two weeks of the close of the Challenge. |
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| Q. |
When will I be notified if my entry is in one of the traveling collections? |
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You will be notified by mail or email within four weeks of the close of the Challenge. |
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| Q. |
How will I know if you’ve received my entry? |
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You can enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope or postcard, and we will send it to you when we receive the entry. We will also email you if you prefer, and if you include a note with your accurate, legible email address requesting notice. |
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| Q. |
Should I give up quilting if my item is returned? |
| A. |
Absolutely not. Although we’d love to keep every single item, and have never met a quilt we didn’t enjoy, the sheer numbers entered prevent us from keeping each one to send traveling. If you’re a first time participant, this year we have award categories specifically for you! We do receive items of high caliber, and the challenge is displayed at the largest, most respected shows with the world’s best quilts, so the items kept to include in the traveling exhibits must exhibit quality workmanship and design. Please don’t be discouraged, as many of our talented competitors, judges, etc. have had items returned. You’re in good company. You’ve also experienced personal growth and experience from participating, and will be even more prepared to enter again next time! |
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| Q. |
Do I have to use the coordinate fabrics in my entry? |
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No, you may use any other fabric or fabrics of your choice with the Challenge fabric. |
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| Q. |
Do I have to use only Hoffman fabrics? |
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No, you may use any other fabric or fabrics of your choice with the Challenge fabric. |
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| Q. |
Can I use something other that fabric (paper mache, sculpy, porcelain, etc.) for the doll's body, face, hands, head etc? |
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We recommend the doll be entirely of cloth construction, but will permit non-breakable components. Remember, it must be easily protected by a single wrapping of bubble wrap, and travel without breaking when packed with the other dolls in a trunk. |
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| Q. |
Can I embellish with beads, threads, etc.? |
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Yes! |
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| Q. |
I've chosen a very heavy stand for my doll. Is this a problem? |
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If any component of your entry would put the other dolls at risk during shipping, we will be unable to send your doll to travel. They are layered in a trunk with only a single wrapping of bubble wrap, special packing instructions can not be accommodated. |
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| Q. |
What if I make the quilt, but it’s quilted by another person, or two of us work on a garment or other entry? |
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This year, we will begin accepting items like this, but only one award, ribbon, etc. will be provided per entry. This means you get to negotiate custody of the ribbon and division of the rest! We will give you each a pin. |
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| Q. |
Does that mean I should not mention that another quilter worked on my entry? |
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Anytime someone else participates in the making of any entry for this or any other event, proper and complete credit should be given. |
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| Q. |
What if a bunch of us want to make a group quilt? |
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You’re in luck, starting with the 2005 Challenge! We’ll be offering a Group Quilt Award of Hoffman Fabrics valuing $1000 Retail. This will be given to a quilt by three or more quiltmakers. We’re excited about efforts of both small groups, and large guilds! Again, you guys get to figure out how to divvy out the fabric, etc. |
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| Q. |
I would like to enter in two different categories, say a doll and a quilt. Do I have to fill out two forms and send two entry fees? |
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Yes. We are welcoming multiple entries by the same maker, but do require separate paperwork and entry fees for each. |
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| Q. |
I’m using a design from a purchased pattern/book/magazine? Is this OK? |
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Please give the proper written credit, and we strongly recommend you request written permission from the designer. |
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| Q. |
The Accessory category rules may limit the size of hats or other items, are there exceptions? How will these be displayed? |
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We recognize that this may be an issue. Approximately 18-20 items travel in trunks measuring approximately 24x24x36”. Large items cannot be included. We’ll leave this open for some flexibility around the initial 12x12x16” measurement requirements. Please provide whatever item/stand/ or other needed display with your complete name and address, for example: a hat stand, proper structure to display a purse, etc. This is a new category for us, and we know we’ll be receiving innovative items! |
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| Q. |
Why don't you make sure my local shop has the full Hoffman line of fabrics? |
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We curate the exhibit, but are not housed in or involved with Hoffman's manufacturing or sales crew, so must refer you to them for issues beyond the challenge. |
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| Q. |
Where can I find the fabric? |
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After checking with your local quilt shop, contact us for the fabric (see www.jukeboxquilts.com), or see your favorite internet fabric supplier or catalog source. Only a limited amount of the fabric is manufactured, so some sources may run out of it early in the challenge year. |
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| Q. |
What do the judges look for in the winners? |
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Integral and creative use of a recognizable amount of the selected Challenge fabric, as well as the visual impact and workmanship of the piece. It’s impossible to predict what will appeal to the judge, so we can’t give you specifics. See our CD’s or the website for the previous winners for ideas about what appealed to judges, but recognize that each judge has very individualized tastes, and that they have a very difficult job choosing from a large number of really wonderful items. |
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| Q. |
Can I get comments about my quilt? |
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Starting in 2004, we can provide judges’ comments for an additional $10. As in most large shows who offer this, this usually consists of 3-5 short comments about the strengths of your quilt, and the same number of areas that may need further attention or improvement. These are objective observations made by trained individuals with experience judging shows professionally. We hope that by offering this, those of you interested can learn of areas for future growth, as well as have the strengths of your piece identified. These comments will be returned with your fabric and pin if the item travels, or with your entry if it is not selected. The comments will not be provided by the final judges choosing award winners because of the large number of items they must judge in a short time. |
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| Q. |
Every year one of the quilt exhibits visits my home town. Can you make sure my quilt is in that exhibit? |
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We’re very sorry, but no. As much as we’d like to do this, it would mean we’d lose what very little sanity the curator and crew has left. We strive very hard to create equally strong exhibits, and this would be an extra factor too difficult to accommodate for the 250+ items that travel. |
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| Q. |
How many entries are received? |
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It varies from year to year, but usually between 500-1000 total. |
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| Q. |
How do you separate the finalists for exhibition? |
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The traveling exhibitions are grouped to include a good assortment of the finalists, plus a balanced number of the winning quilts. Quilt Group A, for instance, is no better or different than Quilt Group B – we just had to name them differently to identify them! |
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| Q. |
Will you unpack my doll so it can breathe? |
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Yes. |
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| Q. |
Should I insure my quilt? What if something happens to it? |
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Yes. We attempt to make sure the items are carefully packed and tracked, but loss or damage may occur that is beyond our control. Check with your homeowner’s insurance agent for coverage. |
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| Q. |
If I have a special box made with custom miniature packing peanuts numbering in the millions, will my entry be returned in the same packing? |
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With the exception of cigarette odor, the most guaranteed way of making our whole team twitchy is to pack your item with peanuts. We recognize this as a good cushioning substance, but get very tired of chasing them around the studio, neighborhood, etc. Please use bubble wrap. The boxes we receive fill several trailer loads, and therefore cannot be stored. Any packing materials are sent for recycling prior to the competition. Please don’t send lovingly made bags or complicated, bulky cushioning systems you expect to remain with your item during its 20+ displays. We’d send the bags home (we’re not heartless), but are already bulging at the seams, so can’t store the padding and boxes! |
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| Q. |
I’m a smoker. What was that about cigarette odor? |
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Both Hoffman and your curator’s team are in Southern California. The curator is also a nurse. All of us focus on healthy lifestyles, yes, some of us even surf. We want you to enter Challenges for the next 50 years or more, so please stop smoking. If a quilt arrives with a strong smoke odor, it transfers to the other quilts during competition and storage; therefore we may disqualify and return it. |
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